Photography

African ELEPHANT

This is what future generations would say. An elephant will be just a memory, no more a reality. A dream where they will walk on Earth at peace, as they were born to do; kept alive only in our minds. In April 2016 105 tons of Ivory was burnt in Nairobi. It pained me to see how many elephants were brutally killed. It became a part of my life's work to capture on camera the remaining few living. This picture captures two things (depending on how you look at it): 1. They are walking out from heaven to earth and 2. The elephants slowly fading to nothing but memory. Their fragility is in our hands. This image gives a dramatic feel to many juxtapositions- power & frailty, gentility & giant.

After days of dry and hot weather, it suddenly poured in Mara. The elephant herd went beserk with joy especially the youngsters who started playing in the mud. Probably because thiere was a dominant lion pride was nearby, the adult elephants stood on guard while the youngsters enjoyed the mud playing.

After days of dry and hot weather, it suddenly poured in Mara. The elephant herd went beserk with joy especially the youngsters who started playing in the mud. Probably because thiere was a dominant lion pride was nearby, the adult elephants stood on guard while the youngsters enjoyed the mud playing.

After days of dry and hot weather, it suddenly poured in Mara. The elephant herd went beserk with joy especially the youngsters who started playing in the mud. Probably because thiere was a dominant lion pride was nearby, the adult elephants stood on guard while the youngsters enjoyed the mud playing.

Elephants are big and powerful yet we are a bigger threat than they are. What struck me about this shot was the protectiveness of the mother elephant with the baby behind her and warning the other two calves to stay behind as she cannot decipher whether we are a threat or not. It's amazing how close we came to these elephants as I shot this with a wide angle lens. The sky adds to the mood of the mother elephant- vary and protective.

It is mid morning and the elephants are on their way to the marsh. The walk is in brief as on this hot day the marsh is very attractive to the elephant herd. Thoughts of a mudbath and tender grass are hovering in the minds of these elephants.